


the first time i ever saw you

by Dresupi



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alien Invasion, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - TiMER Fusion, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, Multi, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:04:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dresupi/pseuds/Dresupi
Summary: Steve couldn't believe that this speedster pain-in-the-ass was his soulmate.  But all of those thoughts were pushed aside when both his and Pietro's timers started counting down again.It was probably a good thing that they had a third, because that Sokovian smart ass pushed all his buttons.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nobutsiriuslywhat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobutsiriuslywhat/gifts).



> This is so late, and it's not even finished. There will be at least three chapters. <3

**Steve**

It wasn’t that Steve wasn’t aware of his timer.  Because he was. It had been ticking down ever since he’d gotten the thing installed upon his defrosting.   

But the team was on a mission, currently. And he lost all awareness of everything outside of mission things when he was on a mission.  

So he really wasn’t expecting to have the thing start beeping the second the super speedy guy’s fist connected with his jaw.  

But leave it to him to meet his soulmate by being punched in the face. 

As it happened, both of their timers began beeping uncontrollably and Pietro Maximoff (the super speedy guy) stopped dead in his tracks, turning to stare back at Steve. He swore in Sokovian, a language Steve hadn’t yet learned all the swear words for, and shook his head.  

“That figures,” Pietro lamented. “I hate America. And my soulmate is the Captain of it. Of course.”  He gestured vaguely in the air and shook his head once more. 

Steve scoffed, halfway offended that his soulmate had the gall to be the one who was annoyed by their pairing. As if Steve didn’t have reason enough to not want a speedster pain-in-the-ass as a soulmate.  

Of course, all of the annoyances were put on pause when both of their timers began counting down again. Steve’s started at six weeks, two days, five hours, and change.  

“Six weeks, two days, five hours…” Pietro trailed off, looking back up at Steve for confirmation.  

“We have a third,” Steve stated.  

“It is really too bad your ancient ass will not be around to meet them,” Pietro smirked.  

Steve was _really_ done with this guy.  

* * *

 

**Pietro**

He wasn’t dead.

That was the first thought he had upon awakening.  

And Steve was beside his bed, his hand absently fiddling with the edge of his blanket. 

“My soulmate at my bedside…” Pietro said with a laugh.

“Surprised?” Steve asked, smiling a little.  

“I did not think I would…” Pietro trailed off, realizing that the words he was about to utter, perhaps did not need to be. Steve likely knew. Was likely worried about the same thing.  

Instead, he glanced down at the timer on his wrist. Still ticking down.  

Steve’s hand covered Pietro’s. Gingerly, he squeezed, careful of the cuts and bruises that seemed to cover his body. Getting shot hurt like hell. Not dying from it hurt worse.  

But the thought of never getting to meet their third, or never making it up to Steve for being such a hopeless jackass, those thoughts were excruciating.  

“I wasn’t about to tell our third I let you… get away,” Steve said, chuckling dryly.  “No way are you getting out of this.” 

Pietro cracked a smile. Which hurt.  _ Smiling _ hurt. Recovery was not going to be an easy thing.  

“I would not  _ try _ to get out of this… I am very much enjoying myself. Now that I have sixteen bullet wounds and more cuts and bruises than not.” He coughed and then winced immediately.  “God…”

Steve reached for something. A pillow.  

“Hold this to your stomach. Supposed to help with the pain when you cough.”  

Pietro took the pillow and doubled over it. Steve was right. It did help.

* * *

 

**Darcy**

Darcy’s heart was in her throat as she boarded the plane with Jane. She kept glancing down at the timer on her wrist.  It was ticking down the seconds. The minutes. The hours. 

And that was it. She was meeting her soulmate in a scant few hours.  

And she had no idea what to expect.  

Surely it wasn’t one of the superfreaks Tony was keeping upstate.  No way. 

It had to be another career intern. Right?  

Lovely.  So like this really was the life then.  She was going to be someone’s intern forever.  Or married to someone’s intern. Or shacking up with someone’s intern.  

Intern life was the forever life.  

Darcy sighed heavily and tried to quell the butterflies that were going NUTS in her belly.  Because what if it wasn’t an intern? What if it  _ was _ one of Tony’s superdorks?  

She’d already met a few of them. 

Sam Wilson, who she wouldn’t have kicked out of bed for eating crackers.  

Natasha Romanov, who put the ‘damn’ in hot damn!

And of course, Tony, Thor and Jane. (Jane wasn’t technically superpowered, but she was super smart. And that was totally a power, wanna fight?)  

Jane reached over to squeeze her hand. “Calm down, Darce. It happens to everyone at least once.”  

To which, Darcy replied, “My stomach is eating itself.”  

“Highly improbable,” Jane said. “It’s nerves.”  

“My stomach is eating my nerves? Yeah. Okay. I’ll buy it.”  

Jane snickered and patted Darcy’s hands. “It’s _just_ your soulmate.”  

“Just the person I’m supposed to be meant to spend forever with.  Psh. No big.” 

“But you know… it shouldn’t be a big pressurey thing…”  

Darcy laughed.  “Janey. You never had a timer. Your soulmate literally dropped through a portal in the sky and into your lap. So like…”  

“You’re right…” Jane laughed. “I’m not really qualified to give advice, but oh my gosh, Darcy.  You’re making _me_ nervous and I’m  _not_ waiting on my soulmate!” 

Darcy groaned and lay back in the plane seat. It was going to be a long flight.    

* * *

 

Darcy could have sworn it took as long, if not longer, to ride up to the new Avengers facility in one of Tony’s souped up golf carts than it took to fly there from Culver.  

But she’d be wrong if she did, because according to her watch and actual _time_ , it only took about ten minutes.  

But they were ten of the last fifteen minutes on her timer, so it felt like it took nigh on forever.  

Darcy was all jittery by the time they reached the facility. The bunkhouse was in the main building, the labs were somewhere else. They were supposed to get settled into their ‘bunks’ before they did anything else.

Of course, ‘bunks’ by Tony Stark standards, translated to an entire flipping studio apartment all to herself. There was a communal kitchen, which she’d have to share with all the supes who lived here, but according to Tony, the only one who had boundary issues was Vision.

They were walking down the hall to Jane’s ‘bunk’ when it happened.

Darcy’s heart pretty much stopped beating and no one could tell her otherwise.

Because her timer reached zero, started beeping rapidly in time to two, count ‘em,  _ two _ other timers which so happened to be attached to a couple of buff dudes on the way down the hall. 

Two.  Yes, two.

Darcy had two soulmates. Two of them. 

One of them Captain FREAKING America and the other was definitely a super someone, but she hadn’t seen enough of him to know who he was by name.  She knew him by sight though. He was that guy Tony was constantly making shoes for. The fast guy. There was a picture in his file.

Steve’s mouth fell open and fast guy started talking a mile a minute.  

“She is our third?  Our third?  _ Our  _ third?”  He had a cute accent, now that Darcy was noticing things.  Things beyond how the pair of them filled out those workout-shirts.  “She is  _ cute _ ,” fast guy said, his lips curling up into a should-definitely-be-illegal smirk.

“She’s also like… right in front of you, and can hear everything you’re saying, so maybe don’t talk about  _ her _ like she isn’t here, Eurotrash,” she blurted.

Fast guy’s eyebrows went up.  Very up. The smirk turned into a full-on grin and that was somehow even hotter.

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain Booty Shorts (Okay, so the shorts he was wearing weren’t booty shorts.  But he  _ had  _ historically worn booty shorts, and one could make the argument that every pair of shorts slapped on that star-spangled booty became booty shorts, so…), hadn’t managed to make a sound yet.

Jane and Tony were kind of sidling off down the hall, leaving the three of them there to stare awkwardly at each other.

“Hi,” Steve said, his voice sounding gravelly and altogether too sexy for words.

Fast guy snickered, holding out his hand. “I suppose I should have started there… Hi.  I’m Pietro.” 

Darcy took it, surprised by how warm it was. “Maximoff,” she blurted, suddenly remembering his name. “The guy who melts all the shoes.”

“Yes, I suppose that would be me. I melt more things than shoes, however.”

_ Panties probably _ , Darcy thought, luckily her mind to mouth barriers were back up, so she didn’t blurt that one out into the world.

“I’m Darcy,” she said, smiling almost against her will, because one, she knew it was goofy and two, it was not the time to grin like a doof at her soulmates. It was time to make a majorly cool first impression. “Lewis.”

“Steve Rogers…” Steve said, reaching for her hand and plucking it from Pietro’s. The latter shot him a look that spoke volumes to the relationship they currently had.

Oh, this was going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here is Chapter 2! Complete with light angst and aliens. I'm going to try to finish this up in the next chapter, but it might end up being four chapters instead of three. I'm sure y'all wouldn't mind an extra one, right? :P

**Pietro**

* * *

 

Dinner had sounded like a good first date idea. At least in theory.

In practice, however; Pietro had no idea what to do. What should he wear? What if he choked on his food? What if she was disgusted by his eating habits? He was nervous about every single detail, and Steve wasn’t being very helpful.

“Do I have to wear a tie?” Pietro asked suddenly, just as he was buttoning up his shirt. He’d chosen semi-formal attire without much initial thought, but now that he was second-guessing everything, he worried it wouldn’t be enough. “You said it was a nice restaurant… are they going to throw me out for not wearing a tie?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t _think_ it’s a black tie restaurant.”

“You didn’t ask?” Pietro shrilled, aware of how high his voice had gotten. “But _you’re_ wearing a tie. It doesn’t affect you.”

“Well _yeah_ , I don’t want to get thrown out,” Steve smirked and while Pietro knew he was just teasing him, he sputtered anyway as he started buttoning up more. All the way to his neck.. It restricted his throat, but no way was he getting thrown out of a restaurant or refused service on their first real date with their soulmate.

“Pietro…” Steve said, his tone smooth and calming. “Don’t worry about it.” He reached up to bat Pietro’s hands away from his collar. “They aren’t going to throw you out; you’re an Avenger. Plus, I’m pretty sure Tony owns the joint.” Steve tugged on the top button of Pietro’s shirt,unbuttoning it once more. Pietro’s skin broke out in goosebumps, like it always did when Steve touched him. He had to bite back a shiver. In fact, it caused more of a reaction than Pietro was prepared to admit, given his current mood. “Seriously,” Steve continued. “You look fine. Half sex-mussed and half like you wandered out of a magazine photo shoot.  So...you know, _perfect_.” Steve smirked and hooked his finger in the next topmost button of his shirt, tugging Pietro closer and closer until he could plant one right on his lips.

Pietro inhaled sharply, his belly swooping slightly with the thrill that came with every one of Steve’s kisses. He pulled away and glanced over towards the mirror, eyebrows raising at what he saw. The trousers he’d chosen fit him well. They were tailored to fit _him_ , and fit him they did, hugging snugly around his hips and tapering down his legs.  The shirt was untucked and unbuttoned to his collarbone, it too was tailored, nipped in at the waist and wider up top around his shoulders.

Pietro shifted slightly, tugging on his still unfastened cuffs, and deciding to roll them up around his forearms. Ladies liked forearms, right? Maybe? He made a fist, watching the muscles cord and clench under his skin. He still wasn’t used to this physique. He wasn’t used to gawking at himself in the mirror, actually. So when he gazed into one, he halfway expected to see the gangly, awkward teenager with too much curly hair and acne looking back at him. Instead, he saw a man. One who favored his father more than his mother. It was jarring, seeing how he’d grown in the five short years since he’d technically been a teenager.

He had biceps and triceps and delts and ‘abs for days’, according to Natasha. And he wasn’t sure if it was his enhancement or what, but he didn’t have to work as hard to hold onto it as other people did.

Hell, half the time, Pietro was laying on the couch here in his and Steve’s apartment, eating potato chips and watching Netflix.  He wasn’t in the gym nearly as much as Steve and the others were.

He shifted his focus to the other man in the reflection. Steve was turned slightly, so his back was towards the mirror. But his gaze was focused elsewhere, _on him_.

Pietro felt, and saw… his cheeks start to flush with the attention and he held his breath, turning to plant another quick kiss on Steve’s lips before leaving the bedroom, walking out to the living room and flopping down on the couch, his feet coming to rest on the coffee table. Lime and navy argyle socks and all.

Steve followed him soon after, tugging the tie he’d spent so much time straightening and knotting up and off his head, tossing it on the coffee table. It landed looped around Pietro’s foot. Pietro glared down at the paisley print silk, wrapped around his ankle and practically taunting him. Steve had taken it off as a kind gesture, but Pietro hadn’t asked him to do anything.

Steve stood there, arms folded over his chest as he finally spoke. “ _What_?”

“What?” Pietro frowned, repeating the question.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he lied.

“That’s bull and you know it,” Steve said, calling him out like he always did.

Pietro brought his leg up and extended it towards Steve. “Here. this is yours.”

“Nah, I don’t need it,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “You’re not wearing one, neither will I.  Solidarity.”

Pietro scoffed and kicked his leg, sending the tie flying. Steve caught it in one and Pietro smirked. “I don’t need your solidarity, I can handle this just as well without it.”

* * *

**Steve**

* * *

 

Steve sighed and shook his head, watching as Pietro zipped back to the bedroom, probably to get his shoes.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong. Or if he was. It might not be anything he could control. Maybe they’d simply rushed things. Maybe they shouldn’t have taken the single apartment here at the complex. Maybe it was too soon for cohabitation.

But they were getting along so well after Pietro got out of the hospital, Steve lamented to himself.   _And_ Pietro had seemed so happy to do move in… Steve had let the honeymoon phase… the shiny newness of the relationship lull him into a false sense of security. Now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Sighing, Steve took the tie back to the bedroom, hanging it in the closet amid Pietro’s very audible eye rolls from across the room. “I said you should wear it,” he said softly.

Steve closed his eyes and suppressed the urge to scream into a pillow.. Instead, he simply turned to face his soulmate. “What do _you_ want me to do, Pietro?”

“Wear the tie,” he said frankly, pulling on his shoes. “It looks nice on you, you should wear it.”

There was a hint of truth in his words, but there was a hint of something else. Something deeper. Something just as puzzled and confused as Steve was. As if he didn’t know what to do either.

Pietro’s phone buzzed. An alarm reminder he’d set for himself so they wouldn’t forget to go meet Darcy outside her apartment. As if they’d forget something like that. Now, it only served as a reminder that they had somewhere to be, and they couldn’t stay here and hash this out like they needed to.

Maybe they could talk about it _after_ their date.

Steve was on edge too. As much as Pietro was. He hadn’t been on a date with a woman in… well, technically never.

He wasn’t sure how to go about this, really. It was daunting. And he’d been sort of hoping for a kind of a camaraderie with Pietro. But his soulmate made it quite clear that he wanted nothing of the sort from Steve.

Gods, they were a mess. And Darcy was going to see that. Steve hadn’t spent much time in her presence, but he could tell she was smart as whip. Smarter than two whips, even. And she’d probably take one look at them and know exactly what she was in for. A couple of idiots who couldn’t even work things out amongst themselves, let alone with a third.

Steve’s heart clenched at the thought of her. The same way it clenched when he thought about Pietro. It was that little surge of emotion that choked him up.

He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand as Pietro zipped out of the bedroom.

“Come on, Steve!” he called from the den. “Let’s get going!”

Steve nodded, clearly for himself since Pietro couldn’t see, and grabbed the tie from the closet again, pulling it over his head and tightening it once more around his collar as he walked out towards the front door.

Pietro was bouncing impatiently at the door, and then outside of it.

Maybe it would be for the best if he moved out and let Piet have his space.

Maybe.

* * *

**Darcy**

* * *

 

Darcy was expecting Steve and Pietro to be on time.  She wasn’t expecting them to knock at seven on the dot. Exactly on time.

They looked nice. Put together. Pietro looked good enough to sink her teeth into, wearing a crisp blue button-down and a pair of gray slacks. They looked like they were made for him, like he’d poured himself in and sewed up the seams. She hadn’t realized just how much of a thing she had for guy-thighs until Pietro, but then again, it could probably just be Pietro.

Steve wasn’t to be sneezed at either. Wearing a tie and a button down and a pair of black pants that left little to the imagination.

Cripes, both of them could have been chiseled out of stone and brought to life. Depictions of the type of perfection you only found on Mount Olympus.

And yet, somehow, she had pleased the powers that were and had somehow finagled her way into a soulmate triad.

_Well done, universe. And well done, me._

They had reservations at eight at some place in the city. _And_ they had been cleared to take the Stark chopper to insure that they got there in time.

She was strapping herself in beside Pietro, her hands shaking and fumbling with the straps until he gently removed her hands and did it himself. His fingers brushed hers. He was warm. So very warm.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. One that was returned. Brilliantly.

He then looked up at Steve and nodded once.

Steve gave her a bright smile of his own, and started the engine.

The thing was deafening, so there was no time to really talk on the way to the city. All she could do, was look. Gawk. Stare.

Which she did a lot of. And caught Pietro doing the same. His hand brushed against hers, fingers lacing as he turned to look out the window beside him.

Steve was preoccupied with flying, so there weren’t many stolen glances on his part.

But when he dipped the thing down suddenly, Darcy shut her eyes tightly as Pietro squeezed her hand. She held her breath until  Steve smoothly landed the helicopter on top of a skyscraper.

Steve unbuckled himself first, hopping out and reaching for Darcy’s hand as she started to climb out. His arm curled around her waist, pulling her flush against his body as he safely removed her from the chopper, his lips finding hers soon after.

She felt her hand moving of its own accord, magnetically drawn to the back of his head. He broke off the kiss when Pietro cleared his throat.

Darcy glanced over at him, noting his good-natured smirk as he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry to interrupt, but… reservations?”

“Oh… right…” Steve smiled and led the way, leaving Pietro to offer his arm to Darcy as they made for the elevator.

They ended up entering the restaurant right on time, Steve giving them his name for the reservations.

Darcy glanced up at the two of them, feeling instantly shorter and smaller than she usually felt. Not in a bad way, either.

It was just that they were both so… muscly and wide that she couldn't help but feel miniscule in comparison.

It made her wonder things. Certain _things_ . How they would work. _If_ they would work.

No, surely, they would work.

She was a lucky, lucky girl, as far as the universe was concerned. And figuring out how those _things_ worked sounded like the kind of fun she wanted to have.

When they arrived at their table, oth Steve and Pietro tried to pull out her chair, and she couldn’t help but laugh a little at how they looked, trying to shoulder each other out of the way.

It was the first spark of tension she’d noted since they’d met her in their painfully punctual manner earlier.

“Calm down, guys…” she said softly, “I’m sure I’ll have to get up to go to the bathroom at some point. Can’t you trade off or--”

Pietro finally conceded, taking a step back and shooting her a grin. “Whatever you like, Darcy?”

The tension pressed down on them, almost suffocating in nature as Steve pushed her chair in and quickly took his seat.

She picked up the menu and glanced down at it, wondering if she should say something or just keep it to herself.

“So like… did your moms never teach you how to share or something?” she asked. “Or is sharing something you have to forego in order to be like, enhanced, or whatever?”

Okay, so when had Darcy Lewis ever kept anything to herself?

They both gawked at her from their respective seats. Pietro with his mouth literally hanging open. Steve’s cheeks reddened. Okay, so she didn’t hit far from the mark, then. Embarrassment like that usually meant she’d hit the bullseye.

“I’m sorry, I don’t--” Steve started to say.

“I’m just saying. There are three of us here. I’m not supposed to be with one or the other of you. I”m with you both. So like. No competition necessary. I’m with you both.”

Pietro’s face flushed bright red to match Steve’s as he stared down at his napkin like he’d suddenly developed an appreciation for fine cotton fibers. On the other side of the table, Steve coughed again.

The server arrived at that precise moment to take their drink orders, but after she’d left, they both started apologizing. Loudly.

“Darcy, I’m sorry… _we’re_ sorry,” Steve began. “It’s something Piet and I need to work out--”  

“No,” Pietro argued. “She’s right.  There is no coupling here… this is all of us together. No substitutes...”

She raised her eyebrows expectantly, wondering if Pietro could put his money where his mouth was.

“We’re having some… control issues,” Steve explained for him, which only seemed to annoy Pietro.

“It’s _not_ that,” Pietro countered, glaring down at his menu like the chef’s special had done him wrong.

Darcy waved them off, still looking at the menu. Now was not the time to open this can of worms. It needed to be opened, but not here, not with witnesses. “It’s fine. I mean. It’s not fine, but it will be, yeah?” She reached out with both hands, squeezing both of theirs. “We’ll talk later. Right now, let’s just… let’s eat. Because I am _starving_.”

Their resulting smiles could have lit up the darkest place in the world. Which would be what?  A black hole? Their smiles could light up a black hole. Which was impossible, but here she was, making the metaphor anyway. Darcy Lewis, patron saint of impossible metaphors.

She was making her way over the entrees section when there was a loud boom from across the room. From the kitchen.

And no sooner had she registered that sound as abnormal, than did the swinging doors blow open, and amidst tons of smoke and flames, out came a decidedly alien lifeform. And when she said ‘alien’, she meant _alien._ This wasn’t a leather-clad dom-type from Asgard. This was a tentacle having extraterrestrial of the too-many-teeth kind.

Her heart dropped down into her bowels somewhere and voice died on her lips as Pietro grabbed her around her middle and ran with her to the opposite side of the building, out onto the street. He set her down on the sidewalk across the street and her belly caught up with them a few seconds later.

“Steve,” she said suddenly, and the both watched as Steve burst through the front doors with a baby and a toddler in tow, he ran them across the street, handing the baby to Darcy as he nodded to Pietro. “I’ll call in backup, get as many of them out as you can.”

The toddler, a little boy, clung to her skirt and hid.

Darcy watched as Pietro zipped off to save the day. She turned to Steve. “What can I do?”

In that moment, he looked at her like she hung the stars in the sky and it made her feel all fuzzy despite the alien invasion and relative danger. “Take everyone to the park…” he nodded due north.  “It’s safer there, fewer buildings can fall on them.”

She nodded and shifted the baby in her arms as Steve pulled out his phone, calling for backup.

“You guys like the park?” she asked the toddler, whose watery eyes lit up at the idea.

“Me too,” she said, bouncing the cooing infant in her arms. “We’ll wait on Quicksilver to save your parents and then we’ll all go to the park, yeah?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here's the final chapter! Enjoy! <3

**Darcy**

* * *

 

Darcy didn’t feel like she was doing much. Even by the end, it honestly didn’t feel like work at all.

All she really did was organize about six games of twenty questions with all the kids in the park, which not only kept the kids occupied and close by, but it gave the more family-oriented set an opportunity to keep everyone calm. And then she gave all the get-up-and-go types an opportunity to help when the Red Cross showed up with their tents in the park.

The ones who were clammed up and panicking got their peace and quiet once the tents were up. The tents were kind of big, but there were tables and chairs inside and it gave everyone a modicum of privacy.

And then, once that was done, there were like… emergency vehicles that needed a clear spot to park and to turn around to leave if it was called for.

It wasn’t until her stomach growled and the sun peeped up over the horizon that she realized any time had passed at all. A sense of exhaustion flopped over her like a warm blanket when she checked her phone.

And it was around that very opportune moment that a pair of strong arms wrapped around her middle, hauling her impossibly close as a low whisper of something Sokovian met her ear.

“I was wondering where you two had gone,” she said softly, dropping her head to Pietro’s shoulder. He’d ripped off the sleeves of his dress shirt and untucked it from his waistband. It was unclear whether he’d done it himself, or if his supersonic running had.

“It’s just me,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Steve’s, uh… Steve got hurt--”

“And we’re just waiting around here?” she asked, straightening up and gesturing madly with her free arm. “These jokers have everything under control, they barely needed me at all.”

Pietro snorted derisively. “From what I heard, you organized everything…”

She waved him off. “Doesn’t matter. Where’s Steve?”

“SHIELD Hospital. Secret location,” Pietro replied with a soft shrug of his shoulder. “They won’t even let me in. I gave up trying and came looking for you.”

“Oh, they’re  _ gonna _ let me in, and you’re coming with me.”

She had her phone fished out of her handbag in no time, calling one of the numbers she had saved in her phone but had never had even tried to call before.

“Darcy, I have higher security clearance than you do…” Pietro reminded her, slipping his hand into hers when she reached for him. “If they won’t let me in, they won’t--”

“We’re his soulmates, they have to let us in.” She held out her phone so he could see. “Look. I’ve got Number Two in all of SHIELD on my speed dial thanks to a covert op from a couple of years ago. If Maria  _ Freaking _ Hill can’t get us in, I’ll go break down Nick Fury’s door myself.”

Pietro smirked. “You know Maria Hill?” he asked in a tone that somehow belied both his disbelief and his lack of surprise at the admission.

It was an interesting tone, but Darcy didn’t have time to hyper-analyze it right then. Yes, she was awesome. Yes, she was connected. Those were both given.

Maria’s voice on the phone was clear as crystal, even if she was, understandably, a little preoccupied. After about five minutes on the phone with her, Darcy and Pietro had been given the clearance needed to visit their third in the secret SHIELD hospital.

“She rushed our soulmate privileges. Shame on you guys for not getting that paperwork started…” Darcy said with a sniff as she ended the call. “I  _ would _ lead the way, but I have no clue where we’re even going…” she said, hoping Pietro would pick up the slack and start walking. Running was actually preferable. Even if it came with vertigo and upset stomach. She’d rather puke in Steve’s trashcan than be a second longer without him.

Pietro didn’t disappoint. He  _ did _ pull her close. One arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her across the grass. She had her heels in one hand, her purse in the other, so her bare feet skidded as she moved towards him. He smelled like sweat, dust, and a hint of aftershave, but she didn’t care.

Darcy wrapped the shoe-holding arm around his neck to steady herself as she watched him tilt closer still. He stopped just shy of her lips before speaking. “This is inappropriate, isn’t it,  _ princeza _ ?” he asked, his brow knitting slightly.

“What is?” she asked.

“Kissing you right now.”

She exhaled roughly and closed the distance, pressing her lips firmly to his. Inappropriate or not, he was her soulmate too. And he was safe if a little dirty and ripped.

His stubble tickled her skin as his tongue ran smoothly along the seam of her lips. “I know Steve hasn’t had a chance to… but I don’t… I couldn’t… Darcy…” Pietro whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. His fingers stroked at her jaw. 

“Steve will have plenty of chances, don’t worry,” Darcy replied, kissing him soundly once more. If she hadn’t had her possessions clutched in her hands, she’d have them both tangled in his dirty hair, but the most she could do was hold him tight.  “But I think we should probably get going if--”

“Say no more,” he said, pecking her lips and shifting his stance so he could pull her into his arms.  “Tuck your head,  _ princeza _ , it helps.”

She closed her eyes and tucked her head close to his chest. There was a blur of wind and soon, he was setting her down on the ground outside an innocuous looking building.

They strode inside, her hand in his as she walked ahead of him, looking almost as if she were dragging him. As if that was possible.

Again, security tried to stop them at the elevators, but with Maria Hill’s phone call precluding their arrival, they were quickly ushered up to one of the upper levels of the secret hospital.

A nurse led them to Steve’s room, leaving them outside the closed door.

Darcy glanced up at Pietro, who was practically bouncing on his toes. She knocked timidly and opened the door a crack.

“Come in,” called a familiar voice, a voice which brightened considerably when he saw who had come to visit him.

“How did you… they told me they weren’t letting anyone through!” Steve exclaimed as Darcy dropped her stuff and rushed to his side. She hugged his neck carefully while leaving the wrapped and sling-bound arm alone for the time being.

She lingered as long as she dared before stepping back and letting Pietro get his hugs as well. He ducked in almost tentatively, but Steve tightened his grip on the other man’s back, not letting him get away without a tight squeeze.

“I called in a favor… got our soulmate status rushed so they would tell us where you were…” Darcy said with a small shrug, letting the two of them have a little moment before she answered.

“Made bureaucratic magic is what she did,” Pietro said as he straightened up, moving over beside her. “She fixed things at the park and fixed this too.  All you and I did was fight some aliens.”

If it had been anyone else, Darcy might have started looking for a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but Pietro said it all with such barely contained respect that she couldn’t help but take him seriously.

“Well, I mean… without you guys, we’d be crawling with aliens right now, so…”

“And without you, hundreds of people would probably be dead and I’d be alone in this room,” Steve replied, smiling in a crooked kind of way as he shifted in his bed. “This isn’t as bad as it looks, by the way. Just a sprain. I have to keep it immobilized for a few weeks, which is why there’s a sling.”

“Oh, you’ll keep it immobilized, alright. A little time depending on Pietro and me to wait on you will do you good,” Darcy said in a matter-of-fact tone like it was the most obvious solution to their problem.

“I mean… I won’t be on bedrest or anything,” Steve began.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said with a sniff. “You’re getting better. No way are you ruining your future life just to save face now.”

She said it with as much authority as she could muster, given the circumstances. Given that all she really wanted was to crawl up on the bed and burrow into his side. To feel the rise and fall of his chest and try to quell her beating heart. To pull Pietro up in that impossibly narrow single bed and hold both of them until she could calm down enough to make sure they were still here. Still alive.

Steve turned to Pietro for some support, but only got a dry laugh in response. “If you think I’m siding with the man in the bed, you’re in for a cruel surprise, Steve.”

“Hey now, I sided with you when  _ you _ were in my position!” Steve protested.

Pietro scoffed. “Barely! And Darcy wasn’t here then, anyway.”

There was a soft knock on the door and a nurse entered with a breakfast tray. 

“Okay, okay… look.  I will listen to some arguments tomorrow,” Darcy said, stepping out of the way as the nurse brought the tray over to rest on the bedside table. “Right now, I think we should finish our dinner date. Even if it’s more of a breakfast date now.”

“There’s a cafe downstairs if one of you needs to run down and fetch anything,” the nurse informed them before leaving the room.

“Running and fetching is kind of my thing. I’ll try not to spill anything, okay?” Pietro smirked and zipped from the room, leaving Darcy and Steve alone with the breakfast tray.

“Are you going to spoon feed me now, too?” Steve asked, half-surprised when Darcy leaned over the guardrail on the bed and softly pressed her lips to his. 

“What was that for?” he asked, lips brushing against hers as she fiddled with the rail, trying to make it lower.

“I wanted to. You’re  _ alive _ …” she whispered, finally getting the rail to lower with a clatter so she could climb up into the hospital bed with him, pressing her lips to his once more. “I know you’re supposed to be eating breakfast, but I wanted--”

“But this is the breakfast of champions,” Steve chuckled, slipping his good arm around her waist and clearly relishing the close contact.

“Still, you should eat. I’ll get out of your way,” she said, pecking his lips and decidedly  _ not _ rising out of the bed. Instead, she squirmed around, somehow fitting herself against his side. She reached over and tugged the bedside table so it rolled closer.

“You know, I wasn’t expecting to have to eat with you wrapped around me,” he began. “Not complaining in the slightest, by the way.”

Darcy sniffed out a soft laugh. “Hush you. Eat your oatmeal.”

It was the last coherent sentence she uttered before crashing right there in his bed. Which was where Pietro found her ten minutes later when he returned with muffins and coffee.

She could barely hear them as Pietro plopped down at the foot of the bed. “She fits really well right there, you know…”

“My memory’s fuzzy, but I think you’d fit up here too if you wanted.” Steve’s reply was deep and rumbly, so close to her cheek.

“After I eat. I don’t want to get you all crummy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some sugar if you want! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me some sugar? Maybe? <3


End file.
